Thursday was a busy day! In the morning we had our final exam, and then we received our diplomas from Cirreca. After that we had another debate with the law students, then lunch, then lunch and the beach.
We were the hosts for this meeting with the students. We showed them a PowerPoint of PLU, our families, and the northwest. Since they gave us a lot of their traditional foods on Monday, we thought we should bring something for them. We did the best we could with the unfamiliar resources, and little time we had. Jessica and Hailey made chocolate chip cookies and M&M cookies, and we had them try peanut butter with bananas. They liked the cookies, but weren’t sure about the bananas with peanut butter. The funniest comment we heard was, “Il colle,” meaning “It sticks.” They don’t really use peanut butter in Martinique; we were really surprised that we could find it.
I was kind of relieved because the class was smaller this time. I would have liked to see all of the students again, but the small group was better because it was easier to hear everyone and find a time to talk. For the debate, we chose to talk about something that PLU and many of the students in the group are concerned about: the environment. The law students think people should take care of the environment, but they don’t really make an effort to recycle consistently, or unplug things.
After the debate we had one last lunch by the water with just Madame and the six of us. Then we spent some time at the main beach in Schoelcher and savored one of our last beautiful Martiniquian sunsets. When I got home, my host brother was making crepes! February 2nd was “Chandeleur,” the holiday where everyone makes crepes. He showed me how he can flip it with the pan, and then let me try to make one. In order to make them thin you have to pour the batter on the pan while tilting it around in a circle. The one I made looked a little misshapen, but it was fine. They gave me a cheese crepe and an egg and cheese crepe for dinner, then a crepe with ice cream and chocolate for desert. Most nights I had been pretty full, but this night was over-the-top. I was stuffed!
After dinner I had a nice long talk with my host mom about life. I was really noticing how much easier it is for me to hold a conversation in French. I could usually understand what she was saying the first time, and I didn’t have to say, “quoi?” or ask her to repeat it.
Friday we did homework on the beach for the last time. We had a final get-together with all of the families, and then went to spend our last night with our host families. Mary came with my host family and I to visit my host mother’s brother. It was nice to be able to see some of the extended family one last time because I saw them a lot throughout my stay, and got pretty close with them. My host mom, host brother, and Mary’s host parents took Mary and out to a nice dinner. Mary and I enjoyed our favorite guava nectar juice, and time with the family.
I still feel like I am just on another adventure for the day, and that I will be retouring to my room in Martinique for the night. I’m so happy with all the experiences I had and everything I learned in Martinique. One day I will go back to my second home in Martinique, but until then I have a lot of great memories.
Au revoir!
Kaylena
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